Valmet Automotive to produce Mercedes A-Class

Daimler
Valmet Automotive will be building more than 100,000 A-Class vehicles in Uusikaupunki

Valmet Automotive is to begin manufacturing Mercedes Benz A-Class cars at its plant in the western coastal town of Uusikaupunki in Finland.

The company is starting work on the project immediately and expects to finalise the contract during the autumn.

More than 100,000 A-Class vehicles are set to be manufactured by Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki from 2013 to 2016.

In parallel, Daimler will produce the new A-Class in its own manufacturing facilities. According to Daimler, there are already 40,000 orders.

The vehicle has been built in Rastatt, Germany, since July and will have its market launch in September 2012.

—We are very excited to manufacture for one of the world’s most recognized automotive brands, said Ilpo Korhonen, President of Valmet Automotive.

—We already have a long term, well established customer relationship with Daimler through our roof manufacturing business in Germany and Poland where Daimler is one of our key customers.

The deal means work for up between 300 and 400 employees at Valmet Automotive who had been laid off temporarily and the company anticipates hiring hundreds of new employees from 2014 onwards depending on the development of the assembly volumes.

Valmet Automotive is a Finnish car manufacturer that specializes on premium cars, convertibles and electric vehicles. The company employs about 1,700 people in Finland, Germany, Poland, Sweden, China and the USA.